Ingredient: Leeks

Leeks have dark green tops that are usually removed because they are tough, but save them and add them to your stock. The tender white bottoms are the more usable section of the vegetable. Leeks are in the onion family and add a mild sweet onion flavor.

Preparation

Leeks are great in soup and stews, they can be grilled, baked, boiled, steamed, or sautéed. They are very versatile and add a great amount of flavor. Leeks are sweeter than onions.

** Leeks need to be cleaned well, they often contain a ton of dirt that you may not even see. Try slicing them and peeling back the layers to clean them completely.

Storage

Refrigerate your leeks, wrap them loosely in plastic and place them in the veggie drawer. Leeks can last a week or more.

Nutrition

Leeks are packed with vitamin K, A, C, E, fiber, folate, and several important minerals as well.

Recipes Using Leeks

This is a simple and very flexible recipe. Leeks can be easily subbed for garlic scapes, shallots, or onion. This soup has a buttery flavor that develops even more if reheated the next day. The stock is quite flexible as well (I made tonight’s batch with ham hock liquid). It’s creamy and sweet buttery qualities would lend themselves to all kinds of toppings, such as tender lobster or crab. Thyme also works as a garnish. Make it your own and enjoy!

I wish I could take credit for this one, but it’s adapted from Gwyneth Paltrow’s clean eating recipe collection called “It’s All Good”. Guess what? She’s right! This buttery rich soup is full of flavor and none of the bad stuff. It’s also a great use for all that slow cooker veggie broth we’ve been making from the veggie scraps!
It’s also a very flexible recipe ingredient-wise. No leeks? No problem! No chard? Just about any other leafy green will do! Canned or prepped dried beans work here. Make this one your own and enjoy!

Got celery? In abundance? This recipe may be for you! It’s light and healthy, it’s flavorful, it’s easy. The original recipe calls for a drizzle of walnut oil which, if you have it in your pantry, by all means use it! It is not a necessity though.

This recipe emerged when I accidentally ran out of corn and substituted fiddleheads. I decided to write it up when I saw my husband, a man who does not typically enjoy fiddleheads, going back for seconds.